Expand ZigBee-mesh for garden use

Questions & Help
, ,
1

Hi all,

I’m a relatively new Homey user and a happy owner of a Homey Pro (2023). I’ve got a bunch of devices running through Homey without any problems: Hue lights (with bridge), Eufy doorbell and window sensors, Bosch dishwasher, a robot vacuum, Tado devices, Homewizard energy meter, TV, etc.

Recently I decided to tackle my garden lighting, which needed an upgrade. I cleaned out all the old housings and installed 10 new INNR bulbs along with a Hue outdoor motion sensor to freshen up the garden.

I was under the impression that the ZigBee devices in my home (especially my Hue setup) would create a mesh network that I could benefit from when installing these new lights outside. Just inside, at the garden window (approx. 5m from the first garden light), I have two Hue GU10 bulbs.

However, when I tried to connect my first (and closest) INNR bulb using the Homey INNR app, it couldn’t be found.
To get at least something working, I bought an INNR bridge and managed to connect the closest four garden lights — but they’re not available in Homey. It seems like the connection is too bad to reach the rest. I also found out that the bridge does not work with Homey. :grimacing:

This got me reading through the forums, but there are still some questions I can’t quite find clear answers to:

1. Philips Hue - Mesh?
Before I bought my Homey Pro, I was already using Philips Hue with their bridge. When I got Homey, I installed the Hue app for Homey and all my Hue lights were imported.

→ Does this mean my new INNR bulbs cannot benefit from the existing Hue ZigBee mesh network (since they’re paired with the Hue bridge and not directly to Homey)?
→ Is there any way to get Hue and INNR (and potentially other ZigBee devices) working together on the same ZigBee mesh network?

2. Maybe a ZigBee repeater?
This got me thinking about improving the signal. I read a post by FlorisVandeVijver (Groot bereik zigbee repeater - #35 by FlorisVandeVijver) who used two smart plugs as ZigBee repeaters to solve a similar problem.

→ Is this a possible solution in my case as well?
→ Are there specific recommendations for repeaters that work well with Homey’s ZigBee network to reach outdoor devices?

Thanks a lot in advance for any help or ideas! :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
2

You’d add those devices to the Hue bridge in order to extend it"s zigbee mesh.
Innr is Hue compatible as far as I know.

When you add zigbee lights to Homey, you’ll be creating a separate zigbee mesh.
Zigbee networks are unaware of eachother and can’t be merged / mixed.

In general, any mains powered zigbee device acts as zigbee router.
No need for dedicated “range extenders” or such.

1 Like
3

Just for my information: is there a benefit of adding Hue lights to the Hue Bridge instead of directly to Homey? If not, an additional option would be to pair all devices (so also the Hue lights) directly with Homey. The Hue Bridge would then not be needed anymore.